NEW YORK -- Nick Folk kicked his way to a big pay raise with the New York Jets. Brandon Browner Patriots Jersey . The Jets placed the franchise tag on the reliable kicker Friday after he had perhaps the best season of his seven-year NFL career. Folk made $780,000 last season, but the franchise tag estimate for kickers is about $3.4 million for this season. Folk was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent and by using the tag, the Jets could potentially set things up for a multiyear deal -- which it is believed Folk is seeking. Teams have until Monday to designate a player for the franchise tag, which allows a team to retain the rights to a scheduled unrestricted free agent. Its the first time since 2011 that the Jets used the tag, when linebacker David Harris was franchised. In his fourth season with the Jets, Folk made 33 of 36 field-goal attempts, including three winning kicks. He broke the franchise records for most consecutive field goals from the start of a season (23) and most consecutive home field goals (20). Folk also had a career-high 30 touchbacks on his kickoffs. After spending his first three seasons with Dallas, Folk has established himself as a clutch kicker for the Jets, with coach Rex Ryan playfully referring to him as "Folk Hero." Folk has repeatedly won training camp kicking competitions with the Jets, beating out Nick Novak, Josh Brown, Billy Cundiff and Dan Carpenter, among others, the last few summers. Ryan Allen Womens Jersey . Ekblad led all defencemen with 23 goals and finished tied for fifth in scoring among blue-liners with 53 points in 58. Brandon Browner Jersey . -- Quinn OBrien scored three times in the third period as the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies beat the host Chicoutimi Sagueneens 7-3 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.Eugenie Bouchard got off to a good start at Wimbledon on Tuesday, beating former world No. 34 Daniela Hantuchova of Slovakia 7-5, 7-5 in the first round. The No. 13 seed from Montreal had a tough first match, coming from 3-1 and 5-3 down in the first set, which she won on a correct line call challenge. "I expected a tough match, and it was a tough one," said Bouchard, who advanced to the semifinals of the seasons previous two Grand Slams. "I definitely feel like I didnt play my best most of the match, but competed when it counted, raised my level at some big points. "I felt like I was a bit inconsistent. I didnt take the ball as early as I would have liked to.Tedy Bruschi Womens Jersey. I felt myself more on defence more often than Id like to be. The first match of a tournament, especially a Grand Slam, is always a bit nervy. I think there was a bit of nervous tennis out there." Hantuchova was a challenging opening-round opponent for Bouchard, with a current world ranking of 34th on the ATP rankings. Bouchard, who made it to the semifinals of both the Australian Open and French Open this season, is grouped in a bracket with former champions Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova. She will play Silvia Soler-Espinosa of Spain in the second round. ' ' '
